Virginia Permit Practice Test 1
This free Virginia practice test has 30 multiple-choice questions covering road signs, right-of-way, speed limits, and safe driving — the same topics the DMV tests. Check the DMV site for the current question count and passing score.
Tap an answer. The explanation opens so you can learn it, then go on. Keyboard: A–D or 1–4 to answer, then Enter or Space.
Question 1 of 30
1. What is the earliest age a Virginia teen can receive a driver's license?
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Correct answer: A. Even with a nine-month learner's permit, Virginia will not issue the license before 16 years and 3 months. Birthday-at-16 answers miss the extra quarter year that DMV publishes.
2. While planning a road trip across Virginia, you look up the fastest speed any of its highways allow. What is that statewide maximum?
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Correct answer: A. Virginia's top speed limit is 70 mph, found only on its fastest designated highways. Expect lower posted limits on most stretches, and remember signs control: the maximum applies only where a sign actually posts it.
3. If a state legalizes marijuana possession, may you drive under the influence of the drug?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA drug-impaired-driving guidance says Even in states where marijuana laws have changed, it is still illegal to drive under the influence of the drug. Driving impaired by any substance is against the law in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
4. You are approaching an intersection and the traffic light turns steady red. What must you do?
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Correct answer: C. A steady red light requires a full stop before the stop line or crosswalk, or before entering the intersection if there is no line. Stopping at the line protects people crossing. Remember: red means stop, every time.
5. A yellow diamond shows a bicycle and the words SHARE THE ROAD. What is it asking you to do?
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Correct answer: B. Share-the-road warnings remind you that bicyclists are legal traffic. Slow, wait for a clear gap, and pass with generous space. The sign exists because drivers otherwise squeeze bikes toward the gutter.
6. You are pulling out of a driveway onto a public street. What must you do?
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Correct answer: D. A driver entering a road from a driveway, alley, or private road must yield to sidewalk pedestrians and to all traffic already on the roadway. Public-road users cannot predict your exit, so the burden is on the driver emerging.
7. An officer stops an adult driver in Virginia and a breath test is given. At what BAC reading can that driver be charged with driving under the influence, even if their driving looked steady?
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Correct answer: C. A BAC of 0.08% or more is enough by itself for a DUI charge in Virginia. The law uses a fixed number because alcohol impairs everyone, and drivers are poor judges of their own impairment behind the wheel.
8. You are on a through street. A driver on a driveway to your right is waiting to enter. Who must yield?
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Correct answer: B. Drivers leaving a driveway, alley, or parking lot yield to all traffic on the street, including bikes and people walking. The street already has the flow. Think: entering traffic waits; through traffic keeps moving unless a sign says otherwise.
9. After two drinks at a barbecue in Virginia, you consider driving home. For a driver 21 or older, that becomes illegal starting at which BAC?
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Correct answer: A. Driving in Virginia becomes a per-se DUI at a BAC of 0.08%. Drinks affect people differently, so you cannot reliably guess your number. When you have been drinking, the smart decision is simply to skip driving.
10. On a Virginia highway, you approach a stopped ambulance with flashing lights on the shoulder. What does the move-over law require?
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Correct answer: D. Virginia's move-over law says to vacate the lane beside a stopped emergency vehicle when it is reasonable, and otherwise pass with due caution at a safe speed. Violating it for emergency vehicles is reckless driving — move over or slow down.
11. If it becomes hard to control the car, what does Ready.gov tell you to do?
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Correct answer: A. Official Ready.gov car-safety guidance says If it becomes hard to control the car, pull over, stop the car and set the parking brake. The leftover pump-the-failed-brake list is not on that page; this nearby official loss-of-control sentence is.
12. A funeral procession is using a Virginia road. What must other drivers do?
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Correct answer: A. Virginia says you must yield to funeral processions. Do not cut through, join, or interfere. On an undivided highway, opposite-direction drivers may also need to pull over until the procession has passed.
13. Does the posted speed limit stay safe in bad weather, according to NHTSA?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA speeding guidance says Speed also affects your safety even when you are driving at the speed limit but too fast for road conditions, such as during bad weather, when a road is under repair, or in an area at night that isn’t well lit. The leftover hydroplane-film sentence is not on that page; this nearby official weather-speed rule is.
14. You are passing a bicyclist on a two-lane road. How much space should you leave when you can?
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Correct answer: B. A common safe-passing standard is at least three feet, and more when you are going fast or the bike is wobbling. If you cannot give the space, wait. Squeezing by is how mirrors hit handlebars.
15. The light is steady green as you reach an intersection. Which statement is true?
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Correct answer: B. A green light means you may proceed, but only after yielding to pedestrians and vehicles still clearing the intersection. Green grants permission, not protection, so look left, right, and left again before you enter.
16. On slick or snow-covered roads, what following-distance step does NHTSA list?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA winter-driving guidance says On the road, increase your following distance enough so that you’ll have plenty of time to stop for vehicles ahead of you. The leftover count-the-seconds mnemonic is not on that page; this nearby official following-distance sentence is.
17. How does the official NHTSA NDR code book label leaving a crash without aiding?
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Correct answer: A. Official 23 CFR 1327 Appendix A lists B01 Hit and run—failure to stop and render aid after accident. Related codes cover fatal, injury, and property-damage hit-and-run. State penalties vary; this leftover uses that official national label.
18. Headed downhill at a curb, which way does the official CA handbook (nationally taught hill technique) turn the front wheels?
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Correct answer: A. Official California Driver Handbook parking technique — taught the same way nationwide — says Headed downhill: Turn your front wheels into the curb or right toward the side of the road. Remember to set the parking brake and leave the vehicle in park, or in gear for manual transmission.
19. You see a red-and-white triangular sign reading YIELD as you approach a traffic circle. What should you do?
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Correct answer: B. A yield sign tells you to slow down, check for traffic with the right-of-way, and stop only when necessary to let it pass. It keeps merges smooth without forcing pointless stops. Think of yield as give way, not a full stop every time.
20. What does NHTSA say texting does to your eyes on the road?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA distracted-driving guidance says Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. At 55 mph, that is like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed. Distracted driving is any activity that diverts attention from driving.
21. In Virginia, what is the youngest age at which you can apply for a learner's permit?
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Correct answer: B. Virginia issues learner's permits starting at age 15½. The permit opens the first stage of graduated licensing, where you build skills with a supervising adult before earning fuller privileges. Know your state's number; it varies nationwide.
22. Which shape is used only for yield signs, so you can recognize the sign even when you cannot read its face?
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Correct answer: D. Only yield signs use the downward-pointing triangle, just as only stop signs use the octagon. Unique shapes let drivers react from the outline alone in fog or darkness. Picture the point aiming down, telling you to back off and give way.
23. An emergency vehicle is coming up behind you with lights and siren on a two-lane street. What should you do?
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Correct answer: B. Pull to the right and stop, clearing the lane. If you are in an intersection, clear it first, then pull over. Do not slam-stop in the path. Lights and siren mean yield the road, not freeze in the middle.
24. In a work zone, an orange sign warns of a flagger ahead. The flagger signals you to stop, even though the traffic light beyond is green. What should you do?
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Correct answer: C. Flaggers control traffic through work zones, and you must obey their directions even when they conflict with posted signs or signals. They can see hazards you cannot. Remember: in a work zone, the person outranks the light.
25. In Virginia, state law sets a default limit for residential districts that applies wherever no speed limit sign is posted. That default is which of the following?
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Correct answer: B. Virginia law fixes the unposted residential default at 25 mph. Lawmakers keep it low because residential streets are full of crossings, parked cars, and pedestrians. Remember: no sign means the default applies, and posted signs override it.
26. A 19-year-old driver in Virginia says a single sip cannot matter. Under the under-21 rule, the limit is which of these?
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Correct answer: B. Virginia applies a zero-tolerance rule for drivers under 21: 0.02%. A sip can be enough. If you are under 21, the only safe plan is no alcohol before driving.
27. You are driving on a road with few traffic lights when you see a yellow diamond sign showing a traffic signal symbol. Why is this sign posted, and how should you respond?
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Correct answer: B. Signal-ahead warnings are posted where a traffic light may surprise drivers, such as after a long stretch without one or where a hill blocks the view. Ease off the gas early so a sudden red light cannot catch you.
28. Under Virginia's zero-tolerance law, what BAC level counts as a violation for a driver under 21?
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Correct answer: B. Virginia's zero-tolerance law sets the under-21 threshold at 0.02%, far stricter than the adult standard. Underage drinking is illegal to begin with, so the safest and simplest rule is zero alcohol before driving.
29. A classmate insists everyone must wait until 18 to start driving in Virginia. The real minimum age for a learner's permit is which of these?
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Correct answer: D. Your classmate is wrong: Virginia grants learner's permits at 15½. Starting earlier gives you months of supervised practice while risk is lowest. When rules feel fuzzy, confirm them in the official state driver handbook.
30. A Virginia school bus is stopped with flashing red lights and an extended stop sign. When may you go?
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Correct answer: A. Virginia says you must stop for stopped school buses with flashing red lights and an extended stop sign, and remain stopped until all children are clear of the roadway and the bus moves again. Leaving early is how children still in the roadway get hit.
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